A Beautiful Day
by Wandering Raccoon
Summary: A young Sith Lord comes face to face with his worst nightmare...


Disclaimer: Star Wars doesn't belong to me. Darn it. Neither Derek nor Shyra are mine. They were created by a couple of my friends. But everything else is mine.  
  
Okay, this is my very first attempt to write Star Wars stuff, so there's probably a bunch of stuff that George Lucus would kill me for. But that's the fun. I don't usually write sad stories but that's how this one came out. So if you don't like sad stories, then GO AWAY! I guess I should also tell you that Derek, Shyra, and Elijah were actually created for the sole purpose of role playing (that's why my friends "own" them and not me). But I decided to borrow them for a little while to reek havoc in the Star Wars universe (yea for me!). So without farther a do, here it is...  
  
  
A Beautiful Day  
By: Skye Dragon  
  
  
  
  
Derek hit the marble floor hard. Pain shot up his back and screamed at him, but the man pushed it away and rolled quickly to the side as a blue lightsaber struck the floor where he had just been.   
  
  
Derek leapt to his feet. His left arm hung uselessly by his side, and sweat ran down his face. He whirled to swipe at his attacker with his own lightsaber. It's deadly blade a startling crimson color, as if the blade had absorbed the blood of all those whom it had slain before. He aimed for his attacker's ribs.  
  
But the nameless Jedi was just as fast. It turned, catching Derek's lightsaber with it's own.  
  
The blades hissed and crackled as red met blue.  
  
Derek swiftly jumped away. He landed on the wall of one of the fountains that populated the garden in which he fought. He was panting, exhausted, on his perch on the thick, three foot high, stone wall. Water trickled down a small artificial waterfall at his back, only to rest peacefully in the pool only inches from his black boots.  
  
Derek hungrily sucked air into his lungs, causing his bare chest to heave with each breath. Sweat caused his acutely defined muscles to glimmer in the starlight. His loose fitting, dark pants were blood stained, torn, and scorched.  
  
The Jedi was in much better shape. Wielding it's lightsaber expertly, the Knight breathed easily. Albeit, sweat beaded its brow, that was the only outward sign of fatigue it gave.  
  
Derek forced himself to breathe through his nose, willing his hear to abandon its frantic drumming, and assume a calmer rhythm.  
  
He suddenly found himself glancing back up the path to a small figure that was slumped over on the ground. It was a young boy, seven years old. He had soft, fluffy, light brown hair and-oddly enough-a brown, monkey-like tail.  
  
"Elijah...." Derek thought.  
  
The boy wasn't moving.  
  
Derek mentally kicked himself yet again for getting into this mess. If only he had been more aware....  
  
  
He had been meeting with another very powerful Sith Lord on Kalesmeir, the one who trained him as a young child. Derek felt no loyalty to the man (if he even was a man...). He had learned what he could and then struck out on his own. If the man thought that training Derek to use his "gift" would win his loyalty, then the man was a fool. Jonathan Derek Ravenous lived by his own rules. But the man had connections to other Sith spread out across the universe, and had set up for an ambush on a place where several very strong Jedi where supposedly going to be stationed. The man had been waving an offer to join in right in Derek's face, and as a Sith, it was his obligation to accept.  
  
The meeting went astray quite suddenly, when a guard came in dragging a struggling child that he had caught spying. Derek had protested vehemently when the guard was ordered to kill the boy. He was then forced to admit that the seven year old part Saiya-jin, part vampire, was his son. Then Derek was further pressed into admitting he had taken a wife.   
  
  
This opposing the Sith code, Derek was stripped of his robe and tunic, as will as his lightsaber. He was sentenced to die, along with his family. But in a brief struggle, father and son escaped: bruised, battered, and dog-tired but otherwise unharmed. Derek even managed to reclaim his lightsaber.  
  
Once safely away from their pursuers, Elijah confessed that he had been curious when he awoke in the night to find his father silently leaving and had followed.  
  
This upset Derek. He wondered why he had not been able to "feel" his son through the Force. True, the boy had not been trained to use the Force, focusing more on his natural fighting abilities that came with his being a Saiya-jin, but he was his son and the Force was with him, at least, enough that Derek had formed a bond with him. Because of that bond, Derek was always able to know where his son was and if he was hurt. Even if the boy was unaware of the bond, Derek should have known Elijah was trailing him. But it was a mystery to be solved at another time.  
  
Derek also planned to punish the boy, but it would have to wait until he returned home and gathered up his four year-old daughter, Shyra, and could flee with his two children to another planet where people would not try to kill him. Running away went against his dignity, but he knew he couldn't fight and win.  
  
That was how he came upon the Jedi.  
  
Ducking through random lawns and allies to avoid being seen, he had ended up in one of the huge public gardens that where spread out over the surface of Kalesmeir. Elijah followed close behind, keeping his mouth shut and brooding over his expected punishment. The boy was young enough that he did not realize what he had done, but he knew it was bad, whatever it was. Derek had closed himself down to his anger at this unforeseen twist of fate, and hadn't really registered the warning the Force issued. If he had, then he would have known there was a Jedi Knight just ahead. And considering the mood he was in (and the fact that he was already tired and battered) he would have avoided confronting the Knight.  
  
But once the Jedi was alerted to Derek's presence in the Force, it had it's own ideas.  
  
Now here he was, fighting off a Jedi, and hoping his first-born was okay. The ex-Sith Lord was also painfully aware that this duel could easily attract unwanted attention. And right now, any attention was unwanted.  
  
Derek held himself erect, staying perfectly still. He could feel the blood running down his left arm, could hear the drip, drip, drip, as it fell to the cold stone. The wound from which it flowed throbbed, on fire with pain. The smell of smoke and scorched flesh hung in the air, over-shadowing the ancient battle of Jedi and Sith.  
  
Derek was considering just grabbing his son and jumping over the tall wall on the other side of the area, the wall that separated the lush garden from the street; when the Jedi pounced.  
  
Derek jumped away, somersaulting in the air, and landed a good bit away from the fountain. But no sooner did his feet touch ground, than a barrage of fast, powerful strokes from the Knight assaulted him. He met each blow with his own lightsaber, but the Jedi was pushing him back.  
  
It was not long until Derek felt the cold, hard stone of the outer wall under his back. Eight feet tall, and Derek had no room to maneuver. He was literally pinned. The next swing from the Jedi yanked Derek's saver from his hand. There was a buzz as it deactivated and clattered to the ground, skidding several yards away.  
  
The Jedi drew back to take another swipe, aimed at the ex-Sith Lord's throat. It would have been the killing blow, but Derek had other plans.  
  
At the last possible second, he dropped to the ground. The blue lightsaber emitted an odd sizzling noise as it hit stone. Within seconds, Derek pulled a small, yet sharply honed knife from his boot, and slashed at the Jedi's ankles.  
  
It jumped away in surprise, having not anticipated the move.  
  
Derek glared up at it and scowled when he saw that his knife and not broken the thick leather of the Jedi's boots.  
  
The Jedi charged to press another attack. Derek instantly called his lightsaber to his good hand.  
  
But he did not even get the chance to ignite it as the Jedi was on top of him and swung at the saber. The metal handle was once again plucked from him and then chopped neatly in two. Each half flew in opposite directions and spewed forth sparks.  
  
Derek unleashed a furious growl deep in this throat and suddenly found himself on the business end of the Jedi's lightsaber.  
  
Derek lied still on the ground, with the nameless Jedi Knight looming over him. He was truly pinned this time with nowhere to go. The end of the blue lightsaber was only inches from the tender flesh of this throat and chin. He could feel the heat from the blade, and the hum of the mechanism filled his ears. The blade cast an eerie blue light on his face.  
  
Derek scowled, presenting the Jedi with a perfect view of his razor sharp, vampiric fangs.  
  
The Jedi Knight was stone-faced, not giving away even the slightest hint of emotion.  
  
Derek's breathing was shaky and uneven. His whole body was consumed by pain, but above all that, his heart screamed.  
  
He was going to die at the hands of a Jedi. But worse than that, his children would be taken away from him, just like his wife had been. The Jedi would probably kill Elijah, thinking he was Derek's apprentice. The other Sith would find Shyra and kill her. Derek's mind was overwhelmed by pain and anger. The was the most painful death he could imagine. And there was no stopping it.  
  
Even if his son and daughter could escape to safety, where would they go? They would be parentless, and moneyless; too young to work. They would end up in an orphanage, where the Sith would eventually find them.  
  
Derek stared deep into the Jedi's clear blue eyes with his own clouded, aqua-green eyes. He knew the Jedi could see the conflict in his eyes. But he also knew the Jedi could not possibly understand what the conflict was about.  
  
All options gone, Derek could only accept his fate...his demise. He swallowed hard and then closed his eyes. He let his head fall back onto the hard marble.  
  
As the Jedi drew his weapon back to deliver the killing blow, Derek opened his eyes to look at the sky. He had not realized how light it had become. It was almost morning. Suddenly, the sky turned a beautiful red, then pink, then a rich purple. Finally, a streak of the most glorious gold appeared. The sun had risen. A new day had begun. Songbirds welcomed the day with delightful songs.  
  
Warm sunlight fell on Derek's face. He had to blink against the sudden brightness. He felt the new sunshine warm his face, and then...He felt nothing as a blue lightsaber slashed violently through his heart.  
  
His very last thought was: "It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day..."   
  
End  
  
  
  
Okay guys, this is the first story. I have another story that goes right along with this and tells what happens to Elijah and Shyra now that their father is gone. I'm not going to post it though, unless someone asks for it in a review. Because if no one's gonna read it then I'm not going to bother with it. So if you want it, then ask. If you don't want it...then well...don't ask. Simple as that.  
  



End file.
